Jordan late Sunday charged that four Syrian missiles had landed in the country's northern region, injuring one child and several others who were sent to hospital, DPA reported.
The government summoned the top Syrian diplomat in Amman to protest the missiles, according to Jordanian government spokesman Samih Maaytah. The Syrian ambassador, Bahjat Suleiman, was called after the missiles reportedly landed in the residential area in the Jordanian border city of Al Turra.
It was not clear if the alleged missiles were aimed at elements of the rebel Free Syrian Army which has a presence in Jordan, or at a possible convoy carrying a top level Syrian official, Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, who reportedly has defected to Jordan.
In a press statement, Maaytah said that the government handed Syria's Suleiman a petition underlining the government's "rejection" of the firing of missiles into Jordanian territory and urging Damascus to ensure that a similar incident "does not happen again."
The child, who according to eyewitnesses was injured when a missile landed in front of her home near the Al Turra commercial district Sunday evening, was currently listed in "stable condition." Four other residents were currently being treated for shock, Maayatah said.
Al Turra, located some 2 km from the Syrian border city of Daraa, is a well-known stop-off on the human smuggling route to Jordan and has received thousands of the 150,000 Syrians who have fled to Jordan since March 2011.
The apparent missile strike comes amid fresh clashes between the Syrian regime and rebel forces near the border region, and against the backdrop of the reported defection of Vice President al-Sharaa, whom opposition activists claim is currently "stranded" in the border region.
Security sources confirmed that four missiles originating from Syria landed in northern Jordan late Sunday, which Maaytah indicated were apparently aimed at Free Syrian Army fighters.
But Abu Mohammed, a Syrian opposition activist with ties to the Free Syrian Army currently residing in Jordan, claimed that the missiles were intended for a convoy that Damascus believed to be containing al-Sharaa. Activists say al-Sharaa has been held up in a Daraa safe-house over the last three days.
In a statement issued last week, the Free Syrian Army announced that al-Sharaa, a former foreign minister and longtime regime insider, had broken ranks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and had crossed into Jordan.
Amman has refused to either confirm or deny the reports, which it dismissed as part of an ongoing "media war" between rebels and Damascus.
In Damascus Sunday, President al-Assad made his first public appearance in the capital in nearly two months. His deputy, al-Sharaa, was not seen in the footage. Al-Sharaa's office on Saturday denied statements from the opposition of his defection to Jordan.
The Jordanian-Syrian border has witnessed near nightly clashes between Syrian and Jordanian forces over the entry of refugees. The clashes have intensified since the high-profile defection of former Syrian prime minister Riyadh Hijabi to Jordan earlier this month.
The issue of refugees has emerged as a growing issue of contention between Amman and Damascus, which objects to Jordan's granting refuge to all Syrians, defectors and civilians alike.
In a bid to stop the flow of defectors in Jordan, Damascus launched last month a fresh military crackdown in the border region, opening fire on civilians attempting to flee Syria, triggering firefights with Jordanian patrols.
Although Amman has officially downplayed any tensions in the border region, official sources have confirmed that the Jordanian army has been given direct orders to "respond with force"to any suspected act of aggression from the Syrian side.
Jordan has long struggled to maintain a neutral stance throughout the 17-month-old conflict. But in recent statements, Jordanian officials, most notably King Abdullah, have warned against Damascus's alleged stockpile of chemical weapons and cast doubt over al-Assad's sincerity to end the ongoing bloodshed.
Observers point to Amman's decision to receive Hijabi and a recent reported strengthening of military forces in the border region as indications that Jordan is preparing for potential "hostilities" with its northern neighbor.